His victim, now aged in her 20s, is suing the Middle School for Marketing and Legal Studies in Brooklyn, New York, claiming school officials knew of the den.

A lawsuit claims a engineer spotted it in 2004 while confronting Rodriguez for drinking alcohol at work.

Rodriguez, who is now serving 20 years to life in jail, was also suspended for "non school-related conduct" several times - but was allowed back to work before the sexual assaults happened between 2010-11, it is claimed.

The dank sex dungeon where Rodriguez raped his victim up to 40 times (Image: COURT DOCUMENTS)

A lawsuit alleges the school knew Rodriguez was a "threat to children" (Image: COURT DOCUMENTS)

Lawyer James Monroe, who is representing the victim, described the basement den as "right out of a horror movie".

He told the NY Daily News: "It's perfectly clear that the Department of Education was well aware that Mr. Rodriguez was a problem and a threat to the children entrusted to the school's care."

The school did not reply to a request for comment, the Daily News reports.